I modded it off-topic because the story has fuck all to do with Dr Who...

Bullshit. Look, I'm all for nipping memes in the bud, but if there's one time we can get away with it, this is it. This is the first time we've seen something in our own technology that can explain the magic of how it works. Not bad considering it has been disguised as a 'tractor beam'.

Years ago, I'd visit the physics department and one of the things they were playing with (they had the coolest toys) was a speaker made of some exotic material - I think it may have been ceramic so not that exotic. Anyhow, they were pumping very low frequencies into it and using it to balance a pingpong ball in mid air. I read the summary but, being no heretic, I didn't read the article. I suspect the same thing applies.

Oddly enough, I don't think they were studying sound or pingpong. I was probably a littl

Years ago, I'd visit the physics department and one of the things they were playing with (they had the coolest toys) was a speaker made of some exotic material - I think it may have been ceramic so not that exotic. Anyhow, they were pumping very low frequencies into it and using it to balance a pingpong ball in mid air. I read the summary but, being no heretic, I didn't read the article. I suspect the same thing applies.

Oddly enough, I don't think they were studying sound or pingpong. I was probably a little drunk, or high. I seem to recall that they were actually doing something with fluid dynamics. No, no I am not a physicist and my memory is pretty fuzzy. This was way back in the early 1990s or late 1980s. I seem to recall that they were actually using a very high speed camera to look at it. I've no idea what the outcome was and I strongly suspect they were high too.

I think you were high when you posted this. Sober up before going on-line.

No, this was them floating a ping pong ball with sound. It was MIT. They were video taping it - and watching the waves because you can do that with a high speed camera. I'm pretty sure they were neither studying ping pong nor acoustics - I'm pretty sure that they were working on fluid dynamics. I have no idea what ever became of it, it was just neat to see. This device seems like a much refined form of the above. MIT was not, as far as I know, the first to float a ping pong ball with sound. They might have

<quote><p>And this is demonstrated in the video attached to the article too.,</p></quote>

and the video was too short. I wonder the size of the little pebble size balls were as in weight? Looks like they didn't even match the weight of a ping pong ball. Then I have to wonder what size their new gadget needs to be if they had a truck instead of that little pebble?

and the video was too short. I wonder the size of the little pebble size balls were as in weight? Looks like they didn't even match the weight of a ping pong ball. Then I have to wonder what size their new gadget needs to be if they had a truck instead of that little pebble?

I think you are missing the point. The size or weight does not matter. It just demonstrates that tractor beam can be used in such the way. In the future, they may be able to use it to move bigger/heavier objects. Trying to imagine the size of gadget now has nothing to do with the demonstration because it will go under a lot more research in order to achieve something more useful.

I was thinking it was more of a pusher beam.... Which would be more efficiently constructed out of nozzles using compressed air... But I suppose the point is not about being practical, but doing something new and unique in a different way. Kind of like teenaged boys saying "Watch this!"

Its because of all those other galaxies. Andromeda, Cartwheel Galaxy, NGC 4676. They are ripping us off. They make a fortune with our air. If Trump becomes president, he will bring back the oxygen, he will bring back the nitrogen, and make this galaxy GREAT AGAIN. He loves the Cartwheelians. He loves the Cartwheel people. He has thousands and thousands working for them. Their leaders are too smart for us. Imagine Rubio negotiating with the Andromeda

Its because of all those other galaxies. Andromeda, Cartwheel Galaxy, NGC 4676. They are ripping us off. They make a fortune with our air. If Trump becomes president, he will bring back the oxygen, he will bring back the nitrogen, and make this galaxy GREAT AGAIN.

He can also built a transparent wall around the earth to keep out those illegal aliens and protect our air supply. Of course, it will need to have a combination. I wonder if he'll use the same combination as the one he has on his luggage?

No, this is not because of advertising. The bbc tries to make copying the content hard, and uses digital restrictions management. They even supported EME: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/ar... [wired.co.uk]

I might start with a sound positioning beam until the subject is worn out a little, then transfer to using a light positioning beam to move the subject until the subject is worn out a little bit more than before, then transfer to using a magnetic field to move the subject until the subject is even more worn out, and so on,.. until death.

The basic physics likely points to the possibility of using modulated light waves (or x-ray, gamma ray waves). Those propagate quite well in a vacuum. The question will be how much energy is needed to achieve the necessary wave density to manipulate objects.

There's an ongoing trend with technologies that are somewhat similar to sci-fi tropes but do not do what those devices do that is worrying these days, recent examples:
1. Hoverboards that require metal surfaces instead of floating over anything (you know, hover?)
2. Tractor beams that are actually high intensity wave generators, need a medium to travel through and do not have anywhere near the level of power and flexibility an actual tractor beam has (it's not even a beam!)
This is not to diminish the achi